The Heart of the Beast

I could never be angry at someone immigrating in the hopes of providing themselves and their family with better standards of living. Why should I be so privileged simply because I was born here? Rarely do we think about why people immigrate in the first place. Recent waves of immigration like many in the past are primarily driven by inequalities in economic development. In other words conditions in the destination country are better than those of the native country, which of course is something immigrants have absolutely no control over. Capitalism has fueled and in fact thrives on this uneven development of nations. Whether or not you believe there are alternatives to Capitalism, that Capitalism can be reformed or that there is no alternative (TINA) doesn’t change this fact. Global Capitalism has created these conditions and until we acknowledge this there is no way we can adequately address the issue. We need international dialog not inhumane and ultimately ineffective state policies that fail to acknowledge the roots of immigration let alone address the economic conditions that bring about such migration to begin with. If increasing food prices continue to price large segments of the global population out of the market and as global warming brings about predicted climate change, developed nations are likely to see more immigration not less.

# posted by Crooked : 1:50 PM